I’ve stressed many times that the “off-season” is the best time to work on your game. The reason being is that you aren’t playing much at all and therefore, the pressure and expectations aren’t there. Instead, the focus can be on changing your technique as opposed to where the ball is going.But coming out improperly dressed for lessons or practice during the winter can be quite a turn off. I’ve seen many come out to the range on a freezing day dressed like it’s 60 out and after being miserable for an hour, they hang up the sticks until spring. If you come prepared, you will not only have fun and enjoy your practice session, but it will be more productive.Since I am the one standing there, I bundle up like I’m going sledding, but my students are often able to shed layers as they warm up into their practice sessions. Non the less, dressing “too warm” from head to toe is the best way to go as you always have the opportunity to take layers off.So what are the tricks to staying warm?1) First and foremost is the knit cap. Your mom probably always told you to keep your head warm and that heat escapes if it’s not covered. Knit caps are great for golf and make a HUGE difference. They are comfortable and don’t get in the way so it’s a no brainer.2) Next, wear Under Armour or some other warming clothes underneath your layers. Picking shirts that are designed to keep you warm will make a huge difference. The same goes for leggings. At the very least wear a layer of long underwear and on top of your pants a good storm pant will make a difference. I am on Adidas staff and they make a great storm pant that I slip on over my golf slacks.3) Winter gloves. Are they a good idea? I find them bulky and annoying, but some practice is better than no practice at all and they do keep your hands from freezing. Technology has come a long way since they first came out so not only are they thinner, they are warmer and more comfortable all around.4) Hand warmers. These are great for sticking your hands in your pockets in between swings and warming up your finger tips. I also stick them under my toes in my shoes and it works like a charm!5) Proper shoes. Many tennis shoe designs are for keeping your feet cool. They are like nets that allow your feet to breath. This is not good for cold blustery conditions. Leather golf shoes are much better. So even though you may like to hop out of your car and practice in your sneakers, take the time to put on golf shoes. Better yet is a good outdoor hiking shoe designed to keep your feet warm in cold conditions. I have had both Keens and Merrells that have both been much warmer than tennis shoes and kept my toes warm while I was standing out on the range all day.Golf is a year round game. Remember that it was invented in Scotland where it is often cool and damp. Just because we have 4 months or so of cold doesn’t mean you should let your game get rusty. Be prepared, dress warm and you will have fun. The Big Bend Golf Center now has wind shields between the stalls to make your practice even warmer on windy days.

Things are cooling off outside, but they are warming up at the Big Bend Golf Center in Valley Park. The wind shields are up and the heaters are on. So what do you plan to do about your game this winter? The last thing you want to do is let all your hard work from this year go by the way side. Think about how you make progress with an exercise program after a couple of months and feel great. When you lay off for a couple of weeks though, you feel awful and it’s like starting all over again. It’s the same with golf.Here are a handful of things you can easily do to get a jump on the spring season:

1) Take advantage of winterized facilities like Big Bend even if it’s just once a week to keep your body used to the swing motion. (I know my other facility, Family Golf in Kirkwood stays open as well, but they shut out the lights at 6:00).

2) Get on a golf fitness program like the one I run with Jeff Pelizarro at Elevated Performance in Des Peres.

3) Hit on a simulator. Senior Pique’s in Ballwin has a really nice one in the back. The owner Angel Jiminez is a golf nut!

4) Take by-weekly or monthly lessons to keep your swing honed. I will be teaching both inside and outside this winter.

5) Get active on MyGolfInstructor.com. There are over 30 indoor drills for working on your game indoors. There are also hundreds of articls, tips and videos to keep yourself in improvement mode during the off season. Reading the tip of the day and watching a video or two daily will make a big difference in your understanding of things by spring.

Whatever you do, do something! It’s better than sitting back and hoping that your body and brain remember everything come play time. While golf seems seasonal in the St. Louis area, for many places, even cooler climates, it is a year round sport.If you have personal questions on what would be best for your game please feel free to contact me.

Mats vs. grass. Everyone has their opinion on which surface is better to practice from and I believe you will hear the overwhelming majority say grass is best. Grass is of course the more realistic of the two as that’s what you play from on the golf course, unless you are for some reason in the desert in Iraq!There’s a lot to be said about practicing from the grass. It is more realistic as I said, more forgiving on your joints and gives you better feedback. For instance, if you hit a shot fat (contact the ground behind the ball), you will know instantly whether you’ve got good feel or not, as you will see the chunk of grass fly up, your swing will slow, your ball will go all of nowhere and the mark will be on the ground behind where the ball was laying. The same is true if you don’t hit down enough resulting in a thin shot. You will observe that the nice dollar bill size divot in front of the ball that you should of taken if you were to have hit that iron properly doesn’t exist.There is a downside to grass though especially from an instructor’s perspective. For one thing, no lie will ever be exactly the same. The blades of grass, curvature of the ground, etc. will be different from hit to hit. If the lie is different, it only makes sense that the result would be slightly different, right? How then do you know if it’s the lie that changed your result or your swing? Hmmm….that’s a very good question. The other negative factor with grass is when you hit those fat shots it can give you negative feed back and cause a lot of tension and frustration. When going through changes which are difficult enough, it’s best not to add in any other causes of negative feedback to your brain.Mats on the other hand are hard on your joints (many players myself included, have developed tendonitis from over use) and they can actually give you too much positive feedback. You somewhat get away with bad swings as the club can bounce through the mat still giving you a pretty decent result and more distance than you deserve. If you have good feel, you should be able to recognize this though.The positive feedback and the consistent lie make mats beneficial when it comes to learning a new skill. You will be able to focus on doing the same thing over and over without too much frustration if your contact isn’t perfect.As you can see, both surfaces have their pluses and minuses. Picking which surface to hit from is often not a choice as some practice ranges either have one or the other. If you are stuck only on mats, don’t fret is as you can see some positives now. If you are stuck only on grass I believe your practice time will be more realistic and that is never a bad thing. You just might get a little more frustrated. Any professional player would choose grass in a heartbeat, but if you are a higher handicapper and want to focus on grooving a swing change, mats are a decent choice.

Maria Palozola

The Golf Tips Blog of One of the Leading Golf Instructors in the St. Louis area.